Soft
by knacc
Summary: Zer0 tries to decide what to do in the aftermath of "Sir Hammerlock vs. The Son of Crawmerax."


Hours later, after the other vault hunters have finally shown up and everyone is hanging around the fire and getting drunk, Zer0 slips away back to the spot where his assassin had been killed. He searches the body, tries to hypothesis how he'd died, anything to get a smidge of information on this "One" and after what feels like hours, he still has nothing. He's just pacing around the corpse when Gaige comes up behind him, still surprisingly sober.

"You know," she says, "If you leave for such extended periods of time, people start to notice you left. Makes it a bit less sneaky really."

Zer0 doesn't stop pacing as he says, "Doubtful."

"Well, I noticed you were gone at the very least. And I know what you think of my observational skills."

"You don't count," he says.

Gaige doesn't say anything back for a long moment and he starts to think he might have actually offended her so he stops pacing and looks at her only to find her staring at him, eyes soft. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?" she says, voice quiet. "This 'One' guy?"

"Yes."

"But he helped you out; couldn't he just be an old friend? Or teammate?"

"No," Zer0 shakes his head, "impossible."

Gaige sighs, "Alright, so he's an enemy. I don't get how that is a problem for you. You like a challenge and now you have one."

Now its Zer0's turn to sigh. "Fights without intel/ are like a poorly kept gun/ both are doomed to fail."

Gaige takes a step towards him and Zer0 takes a step away. She frowns, "So what are you going to do then? How can you gather intel on someone you know literally nothing about?"

"I leave."

"Why would you do that? With all of us together, we can help you deal with whatever this guy throws at you. If you're alone-"

Zer0 cuts her off, "No collateral," his tone sharp before letting out a long breath. "I was in the dark on this / I've gone soft out here." He doesn't look at her but he can hear her closing the gap between them. Just as she's about the put a hand on his arm, he whispers, "Don't."

"Why the hell not?" Gaige grumbles. "We're alone and everybody already knows anyway. There is no more secret to keep."

"Maybe not everyone yet," Zer0 says, looking at the sky.

But before Zer0 can pull away, Gaige grabs him around the waist, pulling herself in close. "Fuck you and your lone wolf philosophy. We're a team now, whether you like it or not and I'm not going to let you run away from me everytime you're worried I might get hurt. I can help you with this, hell we can all help you with this. Just let us try, alright?"

Zer0 stays stock still for a moment before crumpling a little, placing one hand on her head and the other around her back. "Fine," he sighs, "what do you suggest?"

Gaige thinks for a moment, making little humming noises that make Zer0's body vibrate due to her proximity. "To be honest, I don't have a single idea right now. But it's been a hell of a long day. How about we head back to the party for now and tomorrow we'll come back here and see if we can figure anything out?"

Zer0 looks at the corpse skewered on the top of the poles and then back to the girl in his arms. After a moment, he says, "Okay," before letting Gaige drag him by the hand back to the blazing fire and their intoxicated friends. It'll be nice to have one more evening together before he leaves.

The next morning Zer0 sneaks out of the shared common room where many of them had collapsed instead of finding their own rooms. Sal is curled up on the floor, snoring loudly and Hammerlock seems to have replaced his normal hat with a tropical flower crown that is rather the worse for wear after his night's sleep. Gaige had been wrapped around Zer0, arms tight as she slept but Zer0 just carefully removed them before running a hand along her cheek and turning to go. Maybe someday I'll be able to come back, he lies to himself but it's a nice lie that makes this easier so he doesn't fight it.

He's just made it to the fast travel station when out of the shadows steps Maya. She looks determined, maybe a little angry and he knows there is no way he can use the station before she knocks him out.

"She didn't believe me," Zer0 says, waiting for Maya to drop her guard.

"No," Maya says, "she didn't. You really underestimate her."

Zer0 starts to circle Maya, hoping he can get between her and his way out.

Maya shifts her position, never leaving an opening. "Now I'm not saying I don't understand what you're doing. And your way might be the best way. But I say you give us a chance before you leave the only friends you've ever had behind. I think you're underestimating all of us really."

"Not you," Zer0 says, still standing in front of her.

Maya spins around and grabs him by the throat, breaking his stealth as she lifts him off the ground. "No," she says, voice cold, "me too." She turns them around so again she is between him and escape before setting him down. "So are we doing this the hard way then? Or will you give us a chance to help you?"

Zer0 rubs his neck before nodding, "Alright."

When they get back to the common room, Gaige wakes up enough to wrap her arms around Zer0's waist, using his chest as a pillow. A moment later she mumbles out, "So did she have to kick your ass or were you less stubborn for once?"

Zer0 ruffles her hair before whispering, "Sorry."

"It's alright," she says into his chest, "just don't do it again."

After a long silence in which Gaige seems to fall asleep, he says, "I won't," and means it this time.

Author's Note: So I'm not sure why I wrote this but I had it in my head so I figured I'd write it down and see how it went. It turned out okay so now I'm sharing it with all of you. I don't this will end up being a part of my own Arm Repairs canon but we shall see.


End file.
